Interview Story Bank
Prepare examples of solving problems, working with others, and learning from feedback.
- Outline
- 4 guided steps
- Practice
- 12 writing prompts
- Keep your work
- Save or download
Before you begin
A story bank helps you recall useful examples without memorizing a script. Build from real events, outline the context briefly, and spend most of the story on your own actions. One experience may demonstrate several skills when you change the emphasis honestly.
Your working draft
0 of 12 prompts answered
Save & downloadWork through one step at a time. Progress counts answered prompts, not the quality of your work. Save or download when you’re ready.
Step 1 of 4
Choose experiences you remember well
Scan school, work, volunteering, athletics, caregiving, and personal projects. Choose moments with a decision or action you remember clearly, including imperfect outcomes that taught you something.
Step 2 of 4
Match each story to a skill
Read the role description and underline skills that appear important. Match each skill to an experience you can discuss firsthand. Leave a gap blank if you do not yet have an example; that gap can become a practice goal or future project.
Step 3 of 4
Outline with STAR
Write short notes for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. Keep Situation and Task concise. Make Action specific to what you did, then state the observed result or what you learned without upgrading a team result into a personal achievement.
Step 4 of 4
Practice for flexibility
Tell the story aloud from the outline, then retell it with a different skill in focus. Check that names, private information, client details, research data, and internal results are safe to discuss. Ask a listener what your contribution sounded like.
Use what you’ve written
Turn your strongest example into a resume bullet
Choose one result you can support and turn it into a clear, accurate bullet. Draft a resume bullet
Read the complete worksheet
Choose experiences you remember well
Scan school, work, volunteering, athletics, caregiving, and personal projects. Choose moments with a decision or action you remember clearly, including imperfect outcomes that taught you something.
- A time you solved a concrete problem:
- A time you contributed to a group:
- A time you adjusted after feedback, a mistake, or a changed plan:
Match each story to a skill
Read the role description and underline skills that appear important. Match each skill to an experience you can discuss firsthand. Leave a gap blank if you do not yet have an example; that gap can become a practice goal or future project.
- Skill or responsibility from the role:
- Experience that provides direct evidence:
- What part of the story best demonstrates that skill?
Outline with STAR
Write short notes for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. Keep Situation and Task concise. Make Action specific to what you did, then state the observed result or what you learned without upgrading a team result into a personal achievement.
- Situation and task in two sentences:
- Two or three actions you personally took:
- Verified result, feedback, or lesson:
Practice for flexibility
Tell the story aloud from the outline, then retell it with a different skill in focus. Check that names, private information, client details, research data, and internal results are safe to discuss. Ask a listener what your contribution sounded like.
- Short title for this story:
- Other skills this same story can truthfully support:
- Detail to clarify, verify, generalize, or remove:
Keep learning
An original InternshipDeadlines worksheet. These sources offer further guidance; their inclusion does not imply endorsement.